Month: February 2017

If this is your very first time switching to natural deodorant, I suggest you read our original blog post about making the switch from big-box antiperspirant to natural deodorant. This post is geared more towards people who are crossing into their third week of using natural deodorant.

Dilemma #1 – Still Feeling Stinky

*NOTE – It’s normal to wake up in the morning and have some odor under your arms. This is not unusual and does not create a call-to-action. Remember, natural deodorants are not created to block any of your body’s normal expelling of sweat, so you’re bound to develop some smell overnight (especially if you normally shower in the morning.)

Make sure you are giving your underarms a truly thorough wash in the shower every single day. This includes exfoliating (try an exfoliating soap, like Mocha Coffee Break).

If you are using a baking soda free version of natural deodorant (like It’s the Pits), try reapplying in the afternoon to see if that quells the smell.

If you’ve done both of the above and you still feel stinky, you may need to upgrade your version to a deodorant with baking soda (like It’s the Pits Plus).

Dilemma #2 – Sweaty Pits

*NOTE – For normal daily activities, by week three, your sweating should have tapered off, but it will never eliminate. You’re not using an antiperspirant, so your underarms are free to sweat normally.

If you are sweating excessively, try dipping a cotton ball in apple cider vinegar and running it over your pits before going to bed. Wash it off in the shower in the morning; this should help to balance out your pH.

Consider taking a look at your diet – Do you consume a lot of caffeine? If so, try replacing caffeinated beverages with water as caffeine raises your heart rate which leads to excessive sweating.

If sweating is truly out of control, speak with a medical doctor.

Dilemma #3 – Staining Clothes

Be sure your armpits are completely dry before applying your natural deodorant. When applying, rub the cream completely into the skin and allow a couple of moments for the cream to absorb before putting on your clothes.

If natural deodorant does rub off on your dark clothes, it should easily wash off in your washing machine.

If natural deodorant rubs off on your light clothes and causes a “sweat ring,” consider using a liquid stain pre-treatment or even rubbing in some dishwashing liquid (regular dish soap, not dish soap for a dishwasher).

Washing your clothes with about one cup of baking soda will help eliminate stains on your clothing.

Dilemma #4 – Dry, Flaking Underarms

*NOTE – Your underarm area is a very sensitive skin which should be treated similarly to the skin on your face.

Moisturize your underarms before applying deodorant to help protect and nourish the sensitive skin.

Try dipping a cotton ball in apple cider vinegar and running it over your pits before going to bed. Wash it off in the shower in the morning. Along with balancing your pH and helping to stave off sweat, the vinegar will help eliminate dry, flaky skin.

Are you experiencing any other problems while you switch to natural deodorant? Let us know in the comments so we can help you address the issues!

I sincerely believe the universe listens to us. Whether this intervention is cosmic or divine, maybe both, I don’t know, but over time, I have realized that somehow we are given the right messages at the exact moments we need them if we just listen.

In the last week, the mantra “You Are Enough” happened to arise from two of my favorite bloggers. Donna DeRosa wrote about it in her recent blog, “A Love Letter to You,” and Dr. Sharon McLaughlin launched a new motivational workout line through her Healthstreet Journal blog which shared the same sentiment.

When I initially thought about the idea, I honestly just dismissed it as a nice motivational concept. “You Are Enough,” I thought, what a great way to get people to feel good about complacency…but Paul Simon’s “Hearts and Bones” continued to resonate in my mind: “That’s just not the way the world is, baby.” You Are Enough could never apply to me.

I am never enough. I am always just too fat, just short of a real promotion, missing one great moment to create a deep friendship, a few sales behind being profitable; I am always one broken something behind stasis. I push, I strive, I try, but I am never enough. Yet, what a beautiful mantra it is, I still thought.

Then, as I was driving home tonight, staring at the bright lights of my beautiful big New York City, one of my favorite songs pops on my playlist, “Live Like a Warrior” by Matisyahu. There’s one particular line in that song which deeply resonates with me. He says, “Today live like you wanna, let yesterday burn and throw it in a fire – live like a warrior.”

In ancient Greek mythology, the Phoenix is a fire bird which lives for an indeterminate number of years until it has fulfilled its purpose, and once it has, it burns itself up in a fire, and from its own ashes, it is reborn. The Phoenix understands that it is enough. That we must throw the mistakes of our yesterdays into a fire to be reborn.

I realized today that You Are Enough is I Am Enough because I was misunderstanding the purpose of the concept all along. It’s not about achieving stasis. It’s about accepting and respecting our climb. And the line I had forgotten in Paul Simon’s “Hearts and Bones” is “Why won’t you love me for who I am, where I am?” You see, You Are Enough is us appreciating who and what we are right here and right now.

Pick up your cell phone and scroll through the pictures. You’ll find your pets, your kids, your selfies, your friends, your family, more selfies, some incredulous screen shots of “I can’t believe its.” What if you could relive each of those moments through scent? Capturing moments through scent has always been our passion, and now we’ve teamed up with Bryan Maes of Inspiration Studios to enliven our fragrances with gorgeous photography. We invite you to take a journey through beautiful moments and read the stories of our main candle collection.

We all long for the lazy days of lounging on a beautiful beach. The smell of salt, our feet in the sand, and the essence of sunscreen all mix together to remind us to just take a moment to relax and be a beach bum.

You’re working late. You’re making final edits, crunching numbers, grading papers, saving lives, changing diapers, whatever you do. You look up at your clock and realize it’s not even time to take lunch yet. The good news – It’s 5:00 Somewhere! This candle is a reminder that you always deserve a moment for you.

Born from the joyous moment of the last day of school, when it’s just you up against your choice of time, summer break is the moment of pure freedom. Whether it means going for a run through a park, or finding yourself gazing across the waters at the lighthouse, summer break is purely and simply free from responsibility.

The pressures of life can be overwhelming. The greatest authors of our time have always taught us to return to nature to find our peace and calm. Walking through fields of lavender and chamomile, we imagine a moment of absolute soothing and relaxation, a moment where we can truly unwind and become unstressed.

There is nothing simultaneously more exciting and relaxing than a weekend getaway. Combining the moments of fun on the Tilt-a-Whirl with the soothing fragrances of lavender and sandalwood, the moment when you finally have a chance to be absolutely carefree and whisk away into a land of adventure.

Every moment deserves its own story and we’re always open to hearing yours. Please share a perfect moment below, and hey, you may just become our next candle or soap!

In Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire, Louis, the self-loathing vampire narrator states: “What does it mean to die when you can live until the end of the world?” He hauntingly echoes the same nihilistic voice of the omniscient Dragon in John Gardner’s Grendelwho eventually tells Grendel that all life is pointless so he might as well just “find a pile of gold and sit on it.”

Our 85 (or so) years of life is an infancy against infinity. The great irony of humanity is that our very delicacy, mortality, impermanence is a gift. The problem is most of us never understand it that way. We spend our lives trying to immortalize ourselves – wishing we could live forever, cursing away our beautiful wrinkles, the candles on our birthday cakes when we should be treasuring our time. Immortality is the curse – Louis sees it, the Dragon sees it; when you can see it all, there is no point, but when you see a distinct ending, suddenly everything gains meaning.

It’s easy to fall into a wave of sadness and loneliness, allowing the tides of responsibility and tedium to bombard your existence. Who doesn’t want to throw their cares to the wind and walk away from it all sometimes? In the end, it’s all meaningless, the Dragon would say. In 100 years no one will remember your anger, your disappointment over an injustice you face; in a thousand years, the hundred will become even more meaningless.

The value comes in understanding the little moments. Appreciating art, laughing with your children, having your pets greet you at the door, dinner with your family, wine with your friends, morning coffee with your co-workers, these little moments are what create a life. We are finite, we are mortal, we are limited, and this is the absolute value.

If we only have 85 years, then every year is precious and every moment matters. Our sadness, our injustices, all of it matters because in ten years we are wiser, stronger and we can pass on our understanding. We can love and forgive because we understand that there will be an end. When it feels like everything is pointless, and we all feel that way at some time, is the exact moment we need to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and realize we (quite literally) do not have enough time to be apathetic. Be angry, scream, yell, cry, yes – love, lounge, fawn, pander even, but never apathy.

Life is simply too short to waste a moment. The world is too wrapped up in scandal and sensationalism they forgot the value in stopping to smell the roses, in stopping to scents the moment.

The word “Evanescence” means the process of disappearing like vapor. We named our signature luxury facial serum, Evanescence, to describe the moment of all your skin troubles disappearing away after using the serum.

We’ve received some rave reviews about how Evanescence creates glowing, youthful, bright skin. Between the Rosehip Seed Oil, Organic Argan Oil, Jojoba Oil, there’s no doubt that our facial serum is an absolute gorgeous luxury in a bottle. Plus, with the beautiful mix of the essential oils of Lavender, Chamomile, Frankincense, and Rose, the blend is teeming with antioxidants and the fragrance is rich, elegant, and absolutely divine.

But did you know that you could use your bottle of Evanescence for more than just your face? Oh yes, this bottle of liquid gold is a divine treat for a multitude of uses. Here are just a few ways we have discovered how you could use Evanescence:

For your hair. Just squirt a dime-sized amount of Evanescence into your palm, rub around, and smooth through your hair to help tame fly-aways on dry hair, or to help you blow-dry wet hair. This oil helps soften and silken your hair as well as leaving a beautiful fragrance.

For your nails and cuticles. If you’re like most of us, you get dry, hard cuticles. Squirt a small amount of Evanescence into your hands and rub deeply into your cuticles to help soften and smooth to create a beautiful manicure or freshen up your manicure. Use it as a cuticle oil while you’re giving yourself a manicure to protect your nailbeds. (The same works for pedicures!)

To protect your feet. Are wearing shoes killing your heels? Rub Evanescence into your heels before your put on your shoes to give your skin an extra layer of protection. (If you still feel pain and rubbing, you may be wearing the wrong size, or the shoes may need to be stretched.)

For chapped lips. Use Evanescence on your dry and cracked lips to make them supple and moisturized. Use a very small amount and spend a moment to rub it into the delicate skin of your lips.

As a make-up remover. Evanescence is an excellent make-up remover because it doesn’t dry out your skin! This is perfect for your everyday make-up. If you’re wearing heavy makeup, we recommend using a standard make-up remover.

As a natural perfume. The beautiful blend of essential oils in Evanescence will give your skin an elegant, natural fragrance for hours. Just dap a bit behind your ears, on your wrists, on your neck, and behind your elbows to carry the scent of lavender, chamomile, frankincense, and rose with you all day.

As an emollient for after waxing. If you wax the hair off of your face, use Evanescence to help rub off the excess wax from your face before washing. This will help prevent the extra snagging and pulling of your skin which could lead to red marks and bruising.

When I opened up my little online shop just 18 short months ago, I never imagined what we would grow into. What began as a hobby and a dream sparked into a full-time business. With no background in business, I studied and learned from the entrepreneurs before me and combined with a will and drive to succeed, I turned Bath Body Candle Moments into a local brand.

Running a business, especially from the ground up, without any knowledge base, is incredibly challenging. I went through some major pitfalls. Yes, I lost money and time, but I gained knowledge and wisdom by listening. Instead of quitting, I chose to evolve.

Above all, I am humbled by my customers. My customers who not only show me such love and gratitude but who go above and beyond by sharing my products and sharing our story.

The categories I was honored in are: artisan products, community engagement and customer service, inspired storytelling, and website user experience.

I chose to make the products we offer because I know the value of the little moments of living add up to a life – a life worth living. I knew I could make something that would benefit and save the lives of animals instead of testing on them or using them as experiments. I learned how blogging about our business and offering up my knowledge to the world could help make someone else’s life better. What I didn’t realize was how many of you were watching and listening.

There are no better words to show my gratitude for your vote of confidence than simply thank you.

Thank you for believing in me, in my vision, in my artwork. Thank you for sharing in my mistakes, celebrating my joys, and sticking with me through it all. Thank you for your dedication to a cruelty-free and empty-shelter world. Thank you for giving me purpose.